


Tristan's Problem

by Panatlantic



Series: 99 problems [11]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:20:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28608171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panatlantic/pseuds/Panatlantic
Summary: Spoiler: It's ultimately Merlin
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: 99 problems [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948336
Comments: 13
Kudos: 87





	1. Chapter 1

Nimueh, like any other omega, loved soft blankets and babies… just her babies tended to be of the monster variety.

Apparently, she was also not averse to raising the dead.

 _“Gehíere mé' wan cniht áwæce. Beo strangra ond steacra for brecþ wáne. úprærest wærc, Uther”_ She chanted, then watched gleefully as the grave cracked and a gauntleted hand pushed through.

* * *

Merlin yawned. It wasn’t even that it had been over an hour since his last nap, just that alpha ceremonies were incredibly boring (omega ceremonies (if they could be bothered with such things) he imagined, would involve a lot more food, blankets and nudity…. and maybe cannibalism) and definitely not be boring). All that standing and blah blah blah…

“Do you solemnly swear to govern the people of this kingdom and its dominions according to the statutes, customs and laws laid down by your forebears?” Uther asked pompously, puffing out his chest when he noticed Merlin watching.

Uther had gone to a great deal of effort to adorn himself with jewels, in his experience, most omegas were obsessed with anything shiny (as previously mentioned, most omega were born to alpha fathers, meaning they came from noble houses and valued things with… er… monetary value – even Morgana had eyed the display speculatively then excused herself to raid the physicians chambers (supposedly because she was feeling faint, more likely to fetch something that would allow her to pillage the jewels from Uther’s unconscious body later). His efforts were wasted of course – Merlin saw jewels as pretty but nothing more. Wrapping a string of sausages around his neck would have been far more effective.

“I do Sire.” Answered Arthur with a blush, because Merlin was watching him with that predatory look again. Merlin moaned in approval – not because Arthur looked resplendent in his formal gear, but because George had sewn some sweetmeats into the lining of Arthur’s doublet to ensure Merlin would stay attentive during the ceremony (apparently he had a habit of wandering off during ceremonies and distracting the assembled alphas). For his part, Merlin couldn’t wait to get Arthur out of his clothes later.

Merlin had tuned out again. All the ‘I do’ing had started sounding like a bonding ceremony in his mind which had him chuckling lowly to himself in what was, quite frankly, an arousing way to the surrounding nobility. Presumably because the few beta bonding’s he had attended in Ealdor usually involved the exchange of at least two goats (which were delicious) and not because he was imagining Uther bonding his own son.

“Now being of age and heir apparent, from henceforth, you shall be Crown Prince of Camelot.” Uther declared, and the court applauded.

“So how does it feel to be servant to the Crown Prince of Camelot?” Asked Gwen, making conversation and distracting Merlin from the beta guards who were intent on subduing an alpha who had been standing too near when Merlin had started moaning.

Merlin rolled his eyes with a huff. Eating the royal leftovers (usually before Arthur had even arrived, because he was just that good at his job) and making sure there were no assassins hiding in the royal bed was tiring but necessary work.

“You're proud of him, really. Even though you complain about him constantly.” Declared Gwen, who seemed to have assigned meanings to Merlin’s non-verbal communications that baffled him at times. Proud? Merlin rolled his eyes again.

Merlin glanced at Arthur, who he suppose did cut a fine figure of an alpha. And if you looked hard enough you could just make out the outline of the sweetmeats under his doublet (Arthur meanwhile was trying to hide his embarrassment (*cough* arousal) as Merlin undressed him with his eyes). Oh.. and judging by the bulge of Arthur’s pants it looked like that sneaky devil George might have added a salami as a bonus. Merlin licked his lips.

“You are! I can see it in your face.“ Announced Gwen, misinterpreting Merlin’s hungry gaze.

Merlin didn’t get a chance to argue because a knight on a horse had just jumped through the stain glass window. Now that? Merlin hadn’t expected that at all. He clapped his approval. Maybe alpha ceremonies weren’t all boring after all.

“What in the devil's name?” Demanded Uther feigning surprise. Honestly he had been expecting a challenge earlier given he had two unbonded omega’s in residence. What did surprise him was the knight bypassing him and throwing his gauntlet at Arthur’s feet. Arthur sheathed his sword and went to pick it up, but another knight intervened to grab it first.

“I, Sir Owain, accept your challenge.” Declared Sir Owain, looking toward Merlin for approval. 

Merlin scratched his butt (Gaius said he should do that a lot and now seemed like a good time). Obviously it was an acceptable response because Owain grinned radiantly.

“Single combat. Noon tomorrow. Till the death.” Said the gauntlet dropping guy, riding his horse out. Merlin needed to get himself one of those inside horses too. On his second day, Merlin had despaired of how large the castle was, and had been severely reprimanded when he tried to bring a horse inside. Instead of being impressed with his ingenuity people had generally been quite upset – and Merlin had used the door like normal people and not come crashing through a window and everything.

No, clearly this was some sort of special breed of horse that you were allowed to bring inside.

“…who? …who?” Merlin asked Gaius, excitedly.

“I'm not sure.“ Gaius replied with a shrug. He hadn’t been able to clearly see the family crest the knight bore, but he had his suspicions. He needed to talk with Geoffrey. “Merlin, your faith in my all-seeing knowledge is both touching and wholly misplaced.”

Merlin grunted.

* * *

Gaius had scuttled off and gossiped with Geoffrey (the nice old alpha that had offered Merlin some candies so he wouldn’t smoke fish in the library anymore). The news wasn’t good, so when Gaius went to see the King, he had decided to bring Merlin as a buffer (Merlin may have been misled into believing they were going to be cake and peered around the room suspiciously).

“I'm sorry to disturb you, Sire.” Interrupted Gaius after a few minutes.  
  


“What is it?” Growled Uther, who was otherwise engaged in encouraging Merlin to remove his clothing (this involved a combination of complex miming and food rewards).

“The knight, the stranger. He bears the crest of Tristan de Bois.” Explained Gaius, slapping Merlin’s hands down when they came up and started to tug at the hem of his tunic. 

“But he's been dead for 20 years!” Sulked Uther. “Dead men do not return!”

* * *

“You've never fought in mortal combat before. It's different. It's not like the training I've been giving you.” Arthur pointed out to Owain. 

  
“Yeah, I know.” Muttered Owain trying to look tough and cast longing glances at Merlin at the same time.

Merlin rolled his eyes as the two alphas talked themselves up.

“And I know no one braver. Remember, all it takes to kill a man is one well-aimed blow.” Finished Arthur, determined to look sage in front of Merlin since he couldn’t fight himself. The Knight’s Code was clear cut, Owain had picked up the gauntlet, so Owain must fight.

Gwen cleared her throat to get the attention of the alphas. “The Lady Morgana asked me to give you this token.” When she entered, Arthur and Owain had been… busy… posing dramatically (presumably for Merlin’s benefit, which was wasted since Merlin was engaged in an internal monologue comparing the merits of lamb shanks to ham hocks (the appreciative noises he kept making may have in part encouraged the display)). “Er… She wishes you to wear it for luck.” Stuttered Gwen averting her eyes because the shirts were coming off. 

Owain grimaced. It was extremely poor form to accept an omega’s token in front of another omega. He held no misapprehensions that Uther would allow him to court Morgana, being only a fourth son. Merlin, however, was common born. “You can thank her. But I won't need luck.” He grunted, pulling a front double bicep pose. “However, perhaps if omega Merlin were to offer a token…”

“Right.” Gwen stated, fidgeting with the red cloth token. Morgana had put her token game into overdrive after no less than eight knights had turned up at the last tournament declaring they would win for Merlins sake. “Are you… sure about that?” Morgana did not take rejection well. Eight knights had been in Gaius’s care by nightfall (pun intended).

* * *

  
“The fight shall be to the knight's rules! To the death!” Declared Arthur, before returning to the stands. It might irk him greatly to see another alpha capturing Merlin’s attention, but then even if Owain beat the challenger, it was unlikely Morgana would leave him in any condition to court Merlin today (and Merlin didn’t seem to have much in the way of a long term memory – which was really rather refreshing from an alpha point of view). “Let battle commence!”

Merlin was in fact unusually excited by the battle. Hopefully this was because in Merlin’s experience battles were always followed by feasts, and not because he thought a battle to the death involved eating the loser when you were done – which was quite an obvious connection to make to some (such as Austin Harrouff or Rudy Eugene). Just in case Owain won he had bought his own condiments.

“Come on, Owain!” Yelled Gwen.

“One well-aimed blow!” Exclaimed Arthur as Owain thrust his sword into the black knights belly.

Only… the black knight did not fall. The crowd gasped in horror as he ran Owain through, killing him.

“Yes!” Exclaimed Merlin, ready to jump the barrier with his feasting knife, an anatomy chart and a pepper mill - only to be restrained by Gaius who had anticipated something like this.

“Who will take up my challenge?” Demanded the black knight, throwing down his gauntlet.

Arthur tried to bolt over the barrier of the stands, but he wasn’t fast enough because his father managed to grab him first. He wasn’t slow dammit! Merlin raised an accusing eyebrow. “It was only one pie!” Arthur denied vehemently (Okay, maybe two. He’d burnt a lot of calories yesterday and it just wasn’t fair…).

Meanwhile some other alpha had jumped over the stands and taken up the gauntlet. “I, Sir Pellinor, take up the challenge!” He declared, sparing Merlin a lusty wink.

“So be it.” The black knight stated. Despite being quite brutally stabbed in the gut earlier, he did not seek medical attention. Curiously, he also did not seek affirmation from Morgana or Merlin, which was terribly un-alpha like.

“….dead?” Merlin asked Gaius. Apart from having a heightened sense of smell, omegas had fierce recall when it came to scents. And Merlin had definitely smelled something similar to the Black Knight… only it hadn’t been another alpha, it had been on a dead badger that Merlin had proudly worn as a cloak for a fortnight before Hunnith had managed to pry it from his sleeping form and burn it.

“Owain didn't land a blow.” Said Gaius, who was still struggling to restrain Merlin.

“..no… sword…. guts…..” Gaius frowned. If there was one thing Merlin knew it was guts. A hunting party in Camelot had been traumatised a week ago when Merlin had darted out of the woods to cut the liver from a freshly killed stag and consume it raw (apparently a semi-feral looking omega with blood running down his chin was frightening to betas, as opposed to the alpha contingent who swore it was the sexiest damn thing they had ever seen).

“Are you sure?” Gaius questioned.

“…dead!” Merlin affirmed.

“Perhaps he already is…” Gaius muttered.

* * *

Merlin had very little interest in the burial vaults. It was mostly dust and bones and stuff. Nothing you could really sink your teeth into (he’d tried). Still... it was an omegas duty to explore everywhere. Probably. No one ever actually told him that but he noticed Morgana was a nosy bint too so it was probably an omega thing and perfectly normal.

“Must've been a gust of wind.” Gaius laughed nervously when the door to the vaults slammed close, plunging them into darkness. “I guess we should have bought a torch.”

_“Leohtbora”_ Chanted Merlin, causing an unlit torch on the wall to light.

“Huh. Handy!” Allowed Gaius. He supposed it couldn’t hurt since there was no one to see. Merlin preened. “Now spit that out!” Commanded Gaius. Once Merlin had grudgingly spat out Constantine’s tibia he continued, “bring your torch over here.”

Merlin peered into the grave. It had the same crest as the Black Knight, but more importantly it was empty, the stone broken as though something had escaped from the inside.

“Oh dear.” Stated Gaius. Gaius, we must remember, had clearly seen a lot of weird shit in his time and was rather unaffected by it. “Tristan de Bois was the brother of Ygraine, Uther's wife.” He explained.

“Mum?” Asked Merlin.

“Ygraine died in childbirth. He blamed Uther and came to the gates of Camelot and challenged him. Uther won. But in his dying breath, Tristan cursed Camelot to one day suffer his return. I thought it was the ramblings of a dying man. It’s my guess we’re dealing with a wraith.”

Merlin gasped. He had no idea what a wraith was specifically, but it seemed appropriate. Just to be sure he hadn’t misread Gaius, he also scratched his bottom.

“Powerful magic can harness the grief and rage of a tormented soul and make it live again. Because it's not alive, no mortal weapon can kill it.” Explained Gaius. “Nothing can stop it until it has achieved what it came for.”

“…blankets?” Asked Merlin.

“Revenge!”

* * *

Merlin watched the match between Sir Pellinor thoughtfully. Pellinor wasn’t doing that bad…

“The sword went in, I'm sure of it!” Declared Gwen when the Black Knight was unaffected by Pellinor’s sword.

Morgana, who hadn’t actually seen it, nodded in affirmation. The Black Knight had ignored her special wine earlier (a couple of the squires were currently foaming at the mouth in his place). No one refused Morgana, much less an alpha. She growled lowly.

Unfortunately for Pellinor (now being dead and all), he was struck down by the Black Knight. The crowd turned to Merlin (the betas just keen on a good show (watching an old man get trounced by an omega), the alphas keen to see if Merlin would break free and try to resuscitate Pellinor as he had Owain (which is what an omega chewing on someone’s face interpreted as from an alpha POV).

They were to be disappointed. Merlin had been lectured quite thoroughly by Gaius on not eating people and desecrating graves and the like the previous evening. There had been a lot of eyebrow raising involved which absolutely fascinated Merlin, but ultimately it was boring and he didn’t wish to repeat the experience.

It was also exactly the distraction Arthur needed. He threw his gauntlet to the ground. “I, Arthur Pendragon, challenge you!” Declared Arthur.

“So be it.”

“Single combat. Noon. Tomorrow.”


	2. Chapter 2

If Uther had been less than amused with Arthur taking up the challenge, imagine how much less impressed he was when the Black Knight’s horse had trotted through the castle with Merlin on its back. Rather than presume Merlin had stolen a horse, it was much more alpha-believable that Merlin had escaped an attempted abduction. The fact that Merlin was neither bound nor gagged was irrelevant – logic was bereft where Merlin (a la Lady Godiva) was involved.

Meanwhile, Merlin was in a very difficult position (not just because it had been a bad idea to ride a horse in the buff). If Arthur fought the Black Knight he would almost certainly die (given the whole wraith thing), Merlin would have to find some other alpha of equal consequence (he had gotten accustomed to a certain level of comfort and had no desire to slum it) to replace him. There were, of course, no available alphas in the castle that had not been claimed by Morgana, who had been terribly unreasonable since she’d caught Merlin with his hands down Leon’s pants (which was ridiculous… Merlin had a perfectly innocent reason… which he would explain to her as soon as he came up with it).

“How could you be so stupid? I'll revoke the challenge!” Uther scolded Arthur, lunging for the reins. Good. Now Arthur wouldn’t die. Merlin smiled triumphantly.

“No. The Knight's Code must be upheld.” Arthur countered, dodging the shying horse. “Once the challenge has been laid down it cannot be rescinded.”

Merlin froze. Bloody hell... of all the times for Arthur to grow a spine against his father…

“You are Crown Prince!” Exclaimed Uther, now armed with a bushel of carrots from a passing servant, presumably to tempt the horse, but Merlin wasn’t immune. He nudged the horse a little closer.

“There cannot be one rule for me and one for all the rest!” Arthur replied fervently. “You want me to prove that I'm worthy of the throne? I cannot do that by being a coward!”

“No, Arthur, this will be your death!” Uther beseeched.

“I'm sorry you have so little faith in me, Father.” Arthur pouted and walked out the room.

* * *

“He is Camelot's strongest warrior. If anyone can defeat it, he can.” Gaius divulged in response to Merlin’s retelling of what had transpired (which was really quite an impressive feat of interpretation given the lack of actual words and excess of carrot consumption).

“ …wraith!” Said Merlin.

“True.” Admitted Gaius. “But if no mortal sword will kill it... what could we do?”

Merlin dashed to his chambers fetching the magic book.

“Merlin!” Gaius warned, “it's too dangerous!”

Dangerous? Merlin laughed in the face of danger (which had only annoyed Morgana even more)! Merlin huffed to himself and started leafing through the book.

* * *

Gwen glared at the Black Knight. This was made quite easy by the fact that without his horse he was stranded in the training ground. It was almost amusing to the castle betas that none of the alphas even questioned that the knight was normal given he had been standing motionless outside for the last day without so much as a toilet break.

No good ever came from a beta being involved in alpha business, so she closed the shutters and went back to her sewing – for this reason she missed Merlin scuttle out into the yard.

Having finally evaded his pursuants (Uther and a dozen or so beta servants who had been drafted into the chase), Merlin approached the Black Knight.

Naturally, being quite dead, the knight responded neither to Merlin’s proximity nor nudity.

“ _Cume her fyrbryne”_ Chanted Merlin, causing the knight to catch fire. Which was quite amusing until the knight turned around and growled at him, causing Merlin to flee back to the castle in fear.

* * *

“Merlin… you know that conversation we had about knocking...” started Arthur when Merlin burst into his room and hid under the bedcovers. Arthur didn’t bother finishing the statement because Merlin’s fear scent was overwhelming. Merlin hadn’t smelt like that since the morning he’d overslept and missed out on bacon at breakfast. “What’s wrong?”

“…no fight…” Merlin whimpered.

“Why?” Bristled Arthur.

“…die…” Merlin cried.

“Why does everybody think that?“ Demanded Arthur

“…pull out… stupid…” Said Merlin. Which was perhaps adding focus on the wrong part of his argument.

“I will not pull out! I am not a coward!”

“…prince…” Tried Merlin.

“I'm not backing down! No one is unbeatable.”

“…die!” Exclaimed Merlin clasping at Arthur desperately.

“I'm not listening to this!”

* * *

Uther was sitting alone in the Council Chamber of Doom having a little drinkie-poo and contemplating why it was called the Chamber of Doom when Nimueh appeared.

“I should've known!” Growled Uther, casting the goblet aside.

“Revenge!” Nimueh cackled.

“Haven't you tired of revenge?” Uther demanded in exasperation. But he was also still an alpha, so he took off his shirt.

“War!” Nimueh reminded him. Being significantly older than Merlin she couldn't afford to be as picky so checked out Uther musculature with a huff.

“You brought it on yourselves! You practised evil!”

Cast a few spells, kill a dude’s wife and all of a sudden, you’re evil… so mean. Nimueh pouted.

“You betrayed out friendship.” Uther continued.

“Son!” Nimueh pointed out. Because that’s what this was really all about.

“She was my heart, my soul. And you took her from me!” Uther whined.

“Law! Balance!” Nimueh explained. Which given that was the exact same explanation she had given Uther prior to the spell being cast kind of explained why he was so peevish about the whole thing. It also was a good lesson in making sure you got written contracts when dealing with omega.

“You knew it would kill her!” Uther accused. “I will not let you take Arthur!”

* * *

  
“How did you get in here?” Geoffrey asked, finding Merlin in the library again.

“…door…?” Answered Merlin.

“No, I locked it.” Geoffrey stated.

“…senile…?” Suggested Merlin.

“And you thought you'd come in and help yourself?“ Asked Geoffrey, not denying the charge because he was getting on in years after all, and not at all adverse to the company of a young omega every now and then (provided they weren’t using priceless parchments as kindling to smoke haddock).

“…Gaius… Arthur… wraith…”

“A wraith!” Geoffrey exclaimed, “then Arthur is in grave peril…”

“…weapon..?”

“Well, I've read of such things in the ancient chronicles…” When Merlin perked up Geoffrey preened a little and continued, “…several fables speak of ancient swords that could destroy anything, alive or dead.“ Geoffrey started looking through the shelves while Merlin tapped his foot impatiently.

“Ah! This is the Chronicle of Beltain!” Geoffrey announced producing the volume. “Now then... Ah, here we are. ‘Sir Marhaus looked upon the great sword, begotten in the dragon's breath and found it passing good.’"

“….dragon!” Repeated Merlin with excitement.

* * *

“…sword.” Said Merlin.

“Merlin?” Asked Gwen in confusion. Possibly because it was incredibly late at night and she was still partially asleep. “What are you doing here?”

“…sword…” Repeated Merlin. “…please.” He added for emphasis.

“What for?” Asked Gwen suspiciously. As a beta she knew better than to give an omega a sharp object.

“Arthur.” Said Merlin. Which was not encouraging at all from Gwen’s point of view. Merlin knew he had made a mistake when Gwen’s face screwed up in horror. You stab a few alphas over food grudges, and everyone got all precious with their sharp pointy things… “…save Arthur?” he corrected.

* * *

Morgana had had one of those dreams again. In this one Arthur had died fighting the Black Knight. Without Arthur in the picture, Merlin was likely to have more than his hands in Leon’s pants before the day was out (Merlin’s claim that he had just checking for mice had been accepted, but only with suspicion).

“No fight.” Stated Morgana, admitting herself with due ceremony to Arthurs chambers.

“You?” Snorted Arthur in belief. “ _You're_ worried about me?”

“Meh.” Grunted Morgana.

“I have to do this. It's my duty!” Declared Arthur melodramatically.

Morgana wasn’t that invested. She checked the blankets on Arthurs bed, found them lacking, and let herself out.

* * *

“My father's been saving this. He's always said it was the best sword he's ever made.” Explained Gwen, pulling a box from underneath the bed.

Merlin eagerly took the sword with a grin. It was perfect (on account of it was a sword, exactly what he was after).

“He'll kill me if he finds I've taken it.” Gwen added.

“Arthur.” Merlin said, petting her on the back in understanding.

Leaving a protesting Gwen (apparently dragging the sword was bad for the edge) Merlin dragged the sword into the dragon cave. He had gotten a few curious glances from the beta guards, but if they weren’t going to question him over the horse he’d rode in earlier, a sword wasn’t going to raise many eyebrows.

“Merlin!” Kilgharrah greeted him.

“…Arthur.” Stated Merlin, shoving the sword at the dragon. “…wraith.”

“The dead do not return without reason. Who has he come for?” Kilgharrah demanded.

“…Uther.” Merlin admitted.

“Then let him take his vengeance and the wraith will die without my aid.” Kilgharrah laughed.

“Arthur.” Explained Merlin.

“Saving Arthur is your destiny, young warlock, not mine.“ Kilgharrah pointed out.

Merlin rolled his eyes, prepared to hold Kilgharrah's nostrils until he had no choice but to breathe on the sword if he had to.

“A weapon forged with my assistance will have great power.” Kilgharrah continued as though the omega hadn’t just called him out on his logic.

Merlin nodded.

“You do not know. You can only guess. You have not seen what I have seen. If you had, perhaps you would not ask this of me. In the wrong hands, this sword could do great evil. It must be wielded by Arthur and him alone.”

Merlin nodded.

“You must do more than understand. You must promise.”

Merlin gave a dramatic pause this time, then nodded again. It was important to pretend you were listening. Thankfully this seemed to be enough because Kilgharrah finally breathed fire on the sword.

“Heed my words. The sword was forged for Arthur, and him alone.” 

* * *

Once the Black Knight was revealed to be Tristan de Bois (estranged and progressively dead brother in law), Uther had had an epiphany.

He simply could not afford to lose Arthur.

Uther had plans. Those plans required Arthur to take over the kingdom so Uther could retire to the countryside and live a simple life with just himself, a wet bar and 50-60 servants (and of course no alpha would consider retiring without an omega to see him through his dotage, and Merlin was the perfect compromise of Others love of omegas and stableboys). In a few years of course - Arthur was still a child after all (it is still fairly common for alphas to infantilize their own adult offspring, scientists today believe this is a survival mechanism that allows family units to persist without alpha offspring killing their fathers for dominance).

These plans required Arthur to be alive too naturally (because it would be a tiny bit hypocritical to use magic to resurrect Arthur if he died… you know… given the mass genocide of magic users and all).

Luckily, Uther was also an idiot, so it never occurred to him that the Black Knight might actually kill him (it’s also an adult alpha thing to presume you are invincible). It was only Tristan after all, and Uther trounced him all the time back in the day.

Ahhh Ygraine… she had won Uther’s heart from the first time he had come within stabbing range. The sight of Ygraine hissing and brandishing a dagger at him… bliss. Perhaps it was Merlin’s similar maidenly aversion and equally proficient knife handling skills (or his shapely omega behind) that had attracted Uther’s eyes at first, but Uther was coming to think perhaps Merlin might be _The One_.

But we digress, in summary, Uther needed to beat some sense into his errant brother in law, and to do that he needed to put Arthur out of action for a few hours or so… just long enough for Uther to defeat Tristan and have some ‘me’ time with the lovely Merlin (while it was nice to see Arthur bonding with his future mother in law, he was also a little clingy at times).

* * *

“I've brought you something that might help you to sleep.” Stated Gaius. This was not really a bad option after all. Tristan would kill Uther, get his revenge and disappear. Arthur would be the new king, bada bing, bada boom, golden age of Albion (fingers crossed Arthur didn’t hold a grudge on the whole being drugged thing).

Arthur was, naturally, fuming – a combination of being told he could not win against the Black Knight and should withdraw by his father, Morgana and even Merlin; a complete assault to his alpha instincts to protect.

“I’m fine.” Ground out Arthur. “I don’t need it.” Fuming Arthur was suspiciously similar to sulking Arthur, but with more pacing and foul language.

“It'll relax you, take the edge off your nerves.” Gaius wheedled (a habit he might have picked up from watching Morgana at work).

Arthur grunted and tossed back the vial – it was important to get a good rest before a battle. “Urgh… well I wouldn't drink it for pleasure.” He muttered with disgust as the taste hit him.

“Why don't you sit down for a moment?” Suggested Gaius.

“Mind you, if you...forget about the taste, the, er, after-effect is quite pleasurable.” Mused Arthur as the ceiling started to boil – he hadn’t been this tripped out since Morgana had discovered wavy caps.

“Just lie back.” Gaius murmured as Arthur passed out on the bed. Gaius left the room, making sure to lock the door on the way out.

* * *

Merlin dragged the dragon sword into the Armory to wait for Arthur, cursing that knights duelled with swords and not daggers or something else with less weight.

“That's a fine blade.” Remarked Uther, causing Merlin to jump in surprise.

“…Arthur…” Stated Merlin, grabbing the sword to his chest.

“He won't be needing it today. I will be taking Arthur's place.” Purred Uther predatorially, invading Merlin’s private space and giving Merlin no choice but to abandon the sword which clattered to the floor, or get thoroughly groped (Uther would have been fine with either outcome).

“Prepare me for battle!” Uther instructed, taking up the sword.

“…Arthur!” Insisted Merlin.

“The grievance was with me, the fight is mine.” Insisted Uther.

“…armor…?” Suggested Merlin slyly.

“That'll do.” Uther waved at Arthurs waiting armour, which granted would probably fit ok given Arthur wasn’t against secretly eating pies when Merlin wasn’t there (Merlin scowled at the memory of discovering Arthurs secret snacking…. like Merlin wouldn’t recognise the scent of venison pie on his breathe…).

“…sword?” Asked Merlin, because Uther was still holding the Arthur-only sword.

“This will be fine.” Said Uther swinging it experimentally to check the balance. “Who made it?” He asked, impressed.

“….smoked pigeon….” Said Merlin.

“It has almost perfect balance. Not the Royal Swordsmith.” Interpreted Uther spectacularly (but then, Uther had spent more time with more omegas than any other alpha in Camelot, so it made sense that he understood their manner of speech more than most).

“…Arthur!” Insisted Merlin, stamping his foot and making grabby hands at the sword (from lunging distance of course, he wasn’t dumb enough to enter Uther’s strike zone... again... not after the eighth time anyway – and who could blame him for that last slip... there had been pork).

“You show him the most extraordinary loyalty.”

“…job!” Declared Merlin.

“But beyond the line of duty.” Suggested Uther suspiciously.

“…bond!” Merlin preened. There. Now Merlin had set his goals down firmly Uther would back off.

“I'm glad.” Declared Uther with a grin. It was good to know Merlin was so keen to form a maternal bond with Arthur. “Look after him.”

* * *

Merlin was so pleased to receive Uther’s permission to bond with Arthur that he had completely forgotten the sword and wandered back to Arthurs chambers. Arthur had been very adamant that he could not bond Merlin because of his father so this was ideal. Regrettably for Arthur, Merlin also didn’t check for other small things, like consciousness, so Arthur missed out on the most amorous ravaging of his life before Merlin returned to the tournament grounds.

“You can have what you came for! The father, not the son!” Declared Uther entering the grounds to the hushed whispers of the spectators and challenging Tristan. A guard stepped forward, removing his cape (and incidentally revealing one of Merlin’s socks that had been tied around his bicep as a token (it had been extremely delicious pork)).

Meanwhile Arthur was stimulated to wakefulness by the fading scent of satisfied omega. Hearing the sound of swords clashing, he made his way to the window to peer out. Seeing the fight in progress he ran to the door, but it was still locked (Merlin had his ways).

Meanwhile, Uther had knocked off Tristan's helmet to reveal the mummified face, causing outcry in the stands. When his sword was knocked out of his grip, Uther defended with his shield, catching Tristan’s sword that had stuck fast in the rim. Uther kicked his shield at Tristan, grabbed the sword and ran Tristan through.

Tristan exploded.

Uther threw the sword aside to remove his helm, waving to the cheering crowd.

* * *

  
“…and you said a wraith couldn't be killed!” Declared Uther, still on an adrenaline high as Gaius treated his wounds. Truthfully even Uther had questioned his mortality when the withered face had been revealed.

“Yes, it was remarkable.” Said Gaius dryly. Noticing the sword on the table he asked, “is that a new sword, Sire?”

“It's the best I've ever fought with.” Uther stated.

“May I have a look?” Asked Gaius tentatively. 

“I was intrigued by those markings.” Said Uther, surprisingly blasé for someone who would declare evil magic and prepare the pyre if a dog farted and it didn’t stink.

“On one side it says, "Take me up," and on the other, "Cast me away." Explained Gaius.

“What does that mean?” Demanded Uther.

“May I ask who made it, Sire?” Gaius deflected.

“Merlin gave it to me.” Preened Uther, casually forgetting the part about it being forged for Arthur. 

Gaius sighed. “Well, that should heal pretty quickly. I'll re-dress it tomorrow.” He said, as Merlin crept into the room. Which was a wasted movement because even an old beta like Gaius could smell his satisfaction.

“Thank you, Gaius.” Uther grinned, choosing to believe Merlins scent was for his victory.

“You ordered Gaius to... to drug me!” Accused Arthur (the pause was for the fact he’d woken up from the drugging with an awful number of inexplicable hickeys in a locked room that the guard had sworn nobody had entered since Gaius left the previous night), bursting through the door. “I was meant to fight!”

Drugged? Well… that explained a lot, Merlin had to admit Arthur had been unusually submissive earlier…

“No, you weren't.” Denied Uther, zero eye contact.

“But the Knight's Code is very clea...”

“Be damned!” Interrupted Uther angrily. “I believed you would die! And that was a risk I could not take! You are too precious to me!”

Arthur was stunned. “I... always thought that...”

“What?” Pouted Uther.

“That...I was a big disappointment to you.” Explained Arthur, having a moment.

“Well, that is my fault, and not yours. You are my only son. And I wouldn't wish for another.” Grumbled Uther (because wishing for the first one had ended up spectacularly badly after all).

…and then there was much hammed-up father-son bonding, because Uther needed Merlin to see what a good father he was.

* * *

“You know why I'm looking at you.” Gaius accused the next time Merlin peeked up at him innocently from beneath his lashes.

Merlin feigned confusion.

“Uther told me you provided him with his sword today.“

“…powerful…?” Asked Merlin sweetly.

“Did you enchant it?” Gaius accused.

Merlin gasped at the accusation.

“Who did then?” Gaius questioned.

Merlin shrugged his shoulders and peered at Gaius artlessly, which would have been convincing if he wasn’t also smirking.

“Shame. It saved the King's life, I'd have been very proud of you.” Sighed Gaius, rewrapping the ham sandwich he had pulled out.

* * *

“Merlin! Merlin...Merlin!” Called Kilgharrah, interrupting Merlin’s sleep again. Merlin was in his own room for once since Arthur was feeling all vulnerable. Even ~~Arthur’s~~ Merlin’s pillow wasn’t helping block out the sound of the dragon calling. Grumbling to himself Merlin pulled himself out of his bed and went to see what the big lizard wanted.

“So, does Arthur live?” Kilgharrah asked when Merlin appeared.

Merlin nodded.

“As I promised.” Smirked Kilgharrah.

Merlin didn’t feel particularly obliged to reveal anymore, especially since his attempt to grab the sword and haul it away earlier had gotten him a rather enthusiastic goosing from Uther. He rubbed his bottom at the memory.

It was unclear to Merlin if Kilgharrah was just naturally suspicious or fishing for compliments, but he kept pushing for details until Merlin admitted it was Uther who had killed the wraith.

“The sword was born of the old magic!” Whined Kilgharrah after moaning and carrying on like a big baby (oddly endearing from an omega POV). “You have no idea of its power! In the hands of Uther, it will bring only evil!”

Merlin shrugged.

“You have betrayed me! You are not ready to be trusted!”

Merlin rolled his eyes.

“You must take the sword far from here and place it where no mortal man can ever find it.”

Merlin nodded. He knew just the place… that lake right behind the castle that was exactly what the dragon described.


End file.
